FIBA suspends British Basketball Federation

By Sam Neter on October 14, 2025

The world governing body for basketball, FIBA, has suspended the British Basketball Federation (BBF) from overseeing men’s basketball in Great Britain, in a dramatic move to “restore regulatory integrity and promote sustainable governance” of the sport.

In a statement released this afternoon, FIBA confirmed that its Executive Committee has temporarily suspended the BBF’s authority to “license or recognise national men’s competitions and to field a men’s national team in FIBA Senior Competitions” pending resolution of what it called “current governance issues.”

The decision follows months of turmoil in British basketball, with the BBF facing a High Court challenge from Super League Basketball (SLB) over the legality of its 15-year exclusive licence to GBB League Ltd (GBBL), and FIBA’s own intervention through the creation of a Taskforce for British Basketball Club Matters in August.

FIBA said the Taskforce had conducted a “comprehensive review” of the situation, including interviews and meetings with key stakeholders, and had now submitted its findings and recommendations.

The governing body added that it had authorised the Taskforce to engage directly with basketball stakeholders and the UK government to “explore and propose an interim operational framework for the top-tier men’s national competitions.”

According to FIBA, these measures are designed “to restore regulatory integrity and promote sustainable governance of men’s basketball in Great Britain as soon as possible.”

The suspension marks the most serious intervention by FIBA in British basketball since the BBF was formed in 2007, effectively stripping the federation of its powers over men’s domestic leagues and national team participation, and the most recent suspension of a national federation since Russia and Belarus in 2022.

It remains unclear how the decision will impact the GB men’s national teams upcoming games, which is scheduled to compete in upcoming World Cup qualifiers which are scheduled in November, or the SLB, which continues to operate independently amid the ongoing legal dispute with the BBF.

The move comes just days after Chris Grant resigned as Chair of the BBF “for personal reasons”, and less than a month after FIBA established the Taskforce to investigate governance concerns.

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